UEL Hypocrisy Exposed: Practice What You Preach
UEL's recent decision to switch cleaning contractors instead of bringing the cleaning staff in-house has highlighted a troubling inconsistency between its stated commitment to diversity and inclusion and its treatment of its own workers.
London, June 19th 2024 — The Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) is calling on the University of East London (UEL) to end discriminatory outsourcing practices immediately. Despite its aspiration to become the UK’s most inclusive university, UEL's recent decision to switch cleaning contractors instead of bringing the cleaning staff in-house highlights a troubling inconsistency between its stated commitment to diversity and inclusion and its treatment of its own workers.
Outsourced cleaners at UEL face precarious employment, low wages, and inferior terms compared to directly employed staff – including disparities in overtime pay, sick leave, and holiday entitlements. This exploitation, particularly affecting low-paid, BAME, migrant workers, starkly contradicts the university’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy.
Ignored and Undervalued:
In October and December 2023, over 100 cleaning staff members at UEL sent letters to Vice-Chancellor Professor Amanda Broderick, highlighting severe issues with the current contractor, Nviro. Despite these urgent appeals, the university's response has been grossly inadequate, leaving the cleaning staff feeling marginalized and unheard.
The transition to a new cleaning contractor presented a clear opportunity for UEL to rectify longstanding injustices by bringing cleaners in-house. By continuing to outsource, UEL fails to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the welfare of its most vulnerable workers.
Evasive and Dismissive Responses:
As of June 19th, 2024, repeated letters and emails from cleaners to university management have not received substantive responses, but rather evasive, dismissive, and superior tones. This ongoing negligence not only perpetuates injustice but also implicates the university in the discrimination it claims to oppose.
CAIWU calls on Professor Broderick and UEL management to act decisively and bring the cleaning staff in-house. This change is essential to halt the abuses by Nviro managers and to ensure the cleaners’ welfare and dignity. Insourcing cleaners is not just a moral imperative; it also makes financial sense. Reports from King’s College and Goldsmiths University indicate substantial cost reductions post-insourcing. By ignoring these benefits, UEL disregards ethical rationale for bringing cleaners in-house.
A Call for Solidarity:
CAIWU urges the UEL community and the public to support the call for insourcing. The university must end its hypocrisy, listen to the demands of its cleaning staff, and take immediate action to align its practices with its professed values of diversity and inclusion.
The time for action is now. End the discrimination, listen to our members, and bring the cleaners in-house now!
Note to editors:
CAIWU is a representative trade union for cleaners and allied independent workers, advocating for fair labor practices and workers' rights. The general secretary is Alberto Durango. For more information, visit www.caiwu.org.uk.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ana Aguirre
CAIWU Communications
Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union
c/o 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH
Tel: 075 900 98084 / 079 045 52106